


At Last

by LaFortunaVelutLuna



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Jace Wayland Plays the Piano, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-12 07:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7925515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaFortunaVelutLuna/pseuds/LaFortunaVelutLuna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jace is back... He's been brought home to the Institute after the battle on the Morning Star, yet he still feels broken. When anxiety begins to creep into place there is only one thing Jace can do and there is only one group of people who can help him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At Last

**Author's Note:**

> Basically I am part of a Shadowhunters kik group chat and the topic of Jace playing the piano came up- or rather, the fact that we have yet to see Jace play the piano in the show. Since the writers haven't delivered (yet!) I decided to write a little fic of my own.
> 
> I hereby dedicate this fic to: Charlotte, Harri, Kari, Lena, Wadeeah, Manal, Chloe, Elodie, Catherine, Lindsey, alex, Ellen, and Madhura. Thank you, ladies: for being the sanity and saltiness of this fandom!!! <3

Jace was tired, he was _so_ fucking tired; despite being rescued last night, he had yet to sleep. The moment he had set foot in the Institute, fellow Shadowhunters had descended like a pack of vultures- pulling him this way and that, asking a million questions at once. Hours had passed and now it was only one Clave representative standing in front of him, repeatedly asking the same questions and trying to 'debrief' him. The thought made Jace snort; this was an interrogation if anything.

"Something amusing, Mr. Wayland? Or do you prefer the adoptive name of Lightwood? Or is it Morgenstern, now?"

If he'd had the energy, the blonde would have said something snarky. "Call me whatever you want as long as I can leave soon"

"Do you have somewhere to be? A message of some sort that needs to be sent?" the rep accused.

"Please, Victor" a voice said from the doorway.

Jace looked up with weary eyes and saw his parabatai's mother standing in front of him.

"Don't you think he's had enough for one night?" Maryse asked.

'Victor' raised an eyebrow. "Considering that dozens of Shadowhunters have lost their lives within the past twenty four hours combined with the fact that Valentine is still on the loose- no, I don't believe we are finished here."

"Look man, I've told you everything I know! I went with Valentine because he was threatening my friends and promised to leave them alone if I went with him. The moment I had the opportunity to double cross him, I did- I helped fight on the ship and I have cooperated in every way since returning to the Institute. I know nothing else so can I please go back to my room and get some sleep?!?"

The chocolate skinned man seemed surprised by the younger man's outburst and crossed his arms.

"I said we are not done debriefing yet"

The soldier got up and stood toe to toe with the Clave rep. "Actually, we are. Clave rules state that a debriefing of any soldier can last for a maximum of four hours before they are required to go back to their dorms for R&R, after which they can be questioned again AFTER eight hours of respite. From my calculation of things, we've been going at this for what- double that time?"

Victor's arms tightened and his eye twitched, knowing damn well that Jace was right.

"Jace is right, Mr. Aldertree" Maryse agreed "This isn't a debriefing: it's an interrogation. Now, unless you have direct orders from the Clave to grill one of our best soldiers to the point of exhaustion and sleep deprivation, then please- let him go and we shall return to the questioning later."

"Remember your place, Maryse" he hissed.

She raised an eyebrow. "I could remind you to do the same."

Jace took the opportunity to make himself scarce; he left the room as quickly as he could, making a bee line for his bedroom but freezing when he felt a hand encircle his bicep.

"Jace, wait" Maryse said "I want you to know that despite my short comings both as a parent and as the head of this Institute, I- I'm glad you're safe. I'm grateful that you're home with us"

The soldier shrugged off her grip and kept walking "Yeah..."

He wasn't an idiot; that apology was out of guilt. He knew damn well that Maryse had tried to stop Alec and Izzy from coming after him, he knew that if Maryse had had her way he'd probably be at the bottom of the ocean along with the Morning Star if only to heighten the family station. What a victory that would have been for her, for the Clave: Jace Morgenstern, Valentine's son, killed before he could do anymore damage along with his father. The blonde opened his bedroom door and slammed it, furious.

This wasn't how things should be! He'd heard Simon rattle on about those mundane movies, the ones where a family member was captured and return to their family with open arms. How everybody would just be grateful that their loved ones were back and how everything would just go back to normal. What a joke...

The bone deep exhaustion was giving way to the kind of nervous energy Jace had fought as a child, the kind of volatile mix that could detonate at any second if he wasn't careful. Sleep was no longer the priority and Jace found himself walking towards the library, ignoring the 'bodyguard' that was following him. His fingers twitched, aching to be of use, desperate for a task in which to keep both his mind and his heart busy. The hunter sat down at the piano and began fiddling with the keys, messing about for a few moments before settling into a familiar rhythm. A lullaby he had heard on his first trip to Idris began to fill the room, a gentle calm with promises of protection and safety rolled on. He played the song several times, so focused on the notes that he jumped when he felt something touch his foot.

"By the angel!" he gasped, knocking the bench over.

A familiar face peeked out from underneath the piano. "Why'd you stop?"

For the first time in weeks, Jace smiled. "Max, what are you doing under there?"

"Hiding" the youngest Lightwood replied, holding up a comic book "Clary's vampire friend gave me this but I know mom would flip out if she saw me reading mundane stories"

The blonde righted the bench and patted the seat beside him, scooting closer to Max once he'd settled.

"What is it about?"

Max smiled and showed his older 'brother' the pictures. "It's called Captain America."

Again Jace grinned, remembering how the former mundane had used that title the first time he had entered the Institute.

"Why did you leave us, Jace?" Max asked, bluntly "Mom said that Valentine showed up and asked you to go with him and you went. Did you not like it here anymore? I mean, did we do something?"

In moment's like these, the blonde realized just how innocent Max was. At his age, Jace had already been repeatedly abused by his father, seen said father murdered in front of him, shuffled half way around the world, and handed off to be raised by people he didn't know. The youngest Lightwood had seen so little of the world, knew hardly anything about the harsh reality of what being a Shadowhunter really meant.

"No, buddy- you didn't do anything wrong" he insisted, hugging the boy next to him.

Max sniffled. "Then why did you leave?"

"Because Max, that bad man everybody keeps talking about? Valentine? He would have hurt Izzy and Alec- Magnus and Clary and Simon, too. He had seraph blades to their necks and would have hurt them if I hadn't gone. Then, by the time all was said and done I couldn't just walk away. I had to find out what Valentine was planning so that I could warn everybody"

The boy looked up at him. "So you did it to protect us? You were trying to keep us safe?"

Jace nodded, hoping and praying that Max would believe him- even to have one person understand his actions and take his side would be enough.

Max smiled and wrapped his older brother in a hug. "I knew you would never turn your back on us!"

Jace held him fiercely, every fiber of his being shouting to hold on and never let go- he may not be a Lightwood, but these people were still his family.

"Will you play some more? I miss hearing you play when I get sent to other Institutes"

The hunter set to playing another song, this time with Max leaning against his side and sleepily watching as the blonde's fingers dragged across the keys. Within moments, Jace felt the familiar warmth in his chest- the sensation of his parabatai drawing closer. Alec sat by his left side and also leaned against him, lifting his own arm so that Izzy could join as well. Jace continued playing; his anxiety flowing away with each pass of the keys and each beat of his sibling's hearts. The song finished but he carried on into another one and another, each note fueling the next and filling the library with a placid melancholy that had absent for weeks.

None of them interrupted his playing, nobody mentioned the early hours of the wee morning, nobody brought up the fact that Jace hadn't properly ate or slept in weeks, nobody felt the need to ruin what little peace they were finally able to achieve in this moment. Right here, right now the only thing that mattered was the four of them.

"The Lightwoods" Izzy whispered "All together, at last"

**Author's Note:**

> before commenting on the shitty drabble that is this fic- please be aware that this was written after more than 36 hours without sleep


End file.
